PolyNewrethanes. CO2 Valorisation for N-Functionalised Polyurethanes: Design and Synthesis of Catalyst Systems for Novel Sustainable Polymers

摘要：全球对聚合物材料的需求很高且迅速增长，过去十年产量增长了40%。必须找到石化原料的替代品;二氧化碳（CO2）是一种理想的替代品，因为它便宜、无毒、储量丰富，是工业过程的废物。CO2和环氧化物的开环共聚（ROCOP）使得能够获得新颖的和工业上相关的聚碳酸酯材料，但在很大程度上受到环氧化物单体的限制。虽然环氧化物与CO2形成聚碳酸酯的ROCOP已经得到了很好的建立，但使用替代单体从CO2形成聚氨酯仍然没有得到充分的探索，并为原始的可持续材料提供了一条潜在的变革路线。该项目旨在开发新型功能化聚氨酯和聚氨酯衍生物的催化路线，开发一系列具有高性能涂料应用潜力的新材料。这将通过三个关键工作包实现，包括：1）催化剂筛选（建立机理理解）; 2）催化剂开发（合成下一代催化剂）; 3）合成一系列新型聚醚（创造一套具有广泛性能的新型聚合物材料）。成功的项目交付将产生生产聚氨酯的新方法，这避免了使用二异氰酸酯（目前用于聚氨酯工业制备的一类化学品，其具有高毒性，并且很快将在几个欧盟国家被禁止）。该项目还将提供一种新的方法，将二氧化碳升级循环为增值产品。

Abstract:Global demand for polymeric materials is high and rapidly increasing, with production growing by 40 % over the past decade. It is essential to find alternatives to petrochemical feedstocks; carbon dioxide (CO2) is an ideal substitute as it is cheap, non-toxic, abundant and a waste product ofindustrial processes. The ring-opening copolymerisation (ROCOP) of CO2 and epoxides has enabled access to novel and industrially relevant polycarbonate materials but is largely limited by the epoxide monomer. While the ROCOP of epoxides with CO2 to form polycarbonates is well-established, the use of alternative monomers to form polyurethanes from CO2 remains underexplored and offers apotentially transformative route towards original sustainable materials. This proposal aims to develop catalytic routes towards novel functionalised polyurethanes and polyurethane derivatives, to develop a series of new materials with potential applications as high-performance coatings.This will be delivered through three key work packages, involving:1) Catalyst Screening (to build up mechanistic understanding);2) Catalyst Development (to synthesise the next generation of catalysts);3) Synthesising a Range of Novel Polyurethanes (to create a suite of new polymeric materials with broad-ranging properties).Successful project delivery will generate new methodologies for producing polyurethanes, which avoid the use of diisocyanates (a class of chemicals currently used in the industrial preparation of polyurethanes that are highly toxic and will soon be banned in several EU countries). Thisproject will also provide a new method of upcycling CO2 into value-added products.